HRV girls team took first in the meet with a score of 100.5 points, edging out Clackamas by just a single point. The boys team scored 67 points and finished fifth out of a field of 12, buoyed by what Herneisen called, “many solid individual performances.”

Herneisen believed this was the first time in history that the girls had ever taken first at the East County Classic as he stated that “none of the coaching staff could remember a team finish higher than fifth place before.” He noted there were many athletes who won their events, but categorized the win as team effort.

“We had many first-place finishers, but this meet was won by the many girls finishing in fourth through eighth place,” Herneisen said. We had many girls finishing with [personal records] and placing really well. It would be really unfair for me to single out one, two, or even three girls for recognition — as we really had girls scoring all over the place.”

However, one of the highlights of the meet Herneisen did mention was the girls 4x400 relay event, which HRV won despite its seeding in the slower heat. The HRV team, — comprised of Emily Viuhkola, Jestena Mattson, Anna Schlosser and Kassidy Davidson — blew the doors off their competition, completing the event in 4:11.76, which was nearly four seconds faster than the next closest team, Reynolds. Herneisen added that “maybe the most exciting performance” was that of Kimberlee Boquist, whose eighth-place finish in the pole vault gave HRV half a point and “secured our margin of victory.”

For the boys team, Herneisen said Parker Kennedy and Patrick Crompton finished second and third, respectively, in pole vault, with vaults of 13-6 and 13 flat. He added that though those were the highest finishes for any HRV boy that meet, “we had many guys establishing solid marks and multiple athletes finishing in third place in many different events.”

Next up: HRV travels to Centennial High School in Gresham this Wednesday for a double-dual against Centennial and Reynolds at 3:30 p.m.